Texas Panhandle Librarians' Symposium

Registration will begin at 9:00, with a light breakfast available to help you start the day off right. Check-in will be located at the Cornette Library Lecture Room, where you'll receive your materials and have a chance to mingle before the day's events begin. We encourage you to arrive early to enjoy some coffee, pastries, and conversation.

We’ll start the day with a quick welcome and a few minutes to get to know your fellow attendees.

Kelly M. Hoppe

Associate Director/Head of Research, Outreach and Instruction

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Kelly is in her 33rd year in education and her nineth year as an academic librarian. Currently, she is the Associate Director and Head of Research, Outreach and Instruction at Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University (WTAMU). Before becoming an academic librarian, she was a K12 educator and school librarian. She is the Chair of the Texas Library Association College and University Libraries Division and is on the 2026 Conference Planning Committee. Areas of interest include the high school to college transition and K12/Academic library collaborations To that end, she works on collaborative projects with school librarians and WTAMU Education Department faculty such as the fall 2023 program School Librarians: The Missing Piece, a program for preservice teachers at WTAMU to learn about collaborating with their campus librarian and then went on to write about this experience in the article School and Academic Librarians: Cultivating Collaboration which was published in the 2023 Winter edition of Texas Library Journal. This collaborative group went on to create the event, Get LIT(erature)! Speed Dating to Build TExES Confidence, a speed dating event for preservice teachers to help them prepare for the certification test which took take place in the fall of 2024. Additionally, Kelly presents at conferences as a way to grow as a professional and as a way to give back to the profession. She was awarded the West Texas A&M Academic Affairs Staff Excellence Award in 2024. Kelly enjoys walking the fine line between dispelling and embracing the common librarian stereotypes.

While much of the literature discussing AI at universities is focused on how AI can be used for academic dishonesty, there are many ways that AI is being used to help students without cheating. Some students are being asked to have AI check their code before they run it, and other students are having AI help explain their frantically-copied notes. AI is also helping students with disabilities like dyscalculia reformat their handouts in ways that are easier to process. In this session, we will be looking at some of these use cases for generative AI, and how you may want to expose your students to these options to ease their college transition.

Bruce Wardlow

Systems and Emerging Technologies Librarian

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Bruce Wardlow has been the Systems and Emerging Technologies Librarian at Cornette Library since August of 2024, having previously served as the OER librarian since 2022. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Washington in May of 2022. Prior to attending Library School, Bruce taught both high school physics in Central Texas, and English in rural Japan. Bruce has also worked as the Lead Agricultural Interpreter at a living history farm, where he pioneered an outreach program taking trained oxen from the site to community events around Texas.

Mark McKnight

Senior Research &Instruction Librarian

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Mark is in his 11th year in education and his eighth year as a librarian. Currently, he is the Outreach and Instruction Librarian at Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University. Before coming to Cornette Library, he was a librarian for the Amarillo public library, and before that, he taught English Language Arts to 6th graders at Travis Middle School in Amarillo ISD. Before becoming a teacher, Mark walked the very odd road of someone who didn’t know what they wanted to do when they grew up, which means he’s built up a ton of stories, everything from becoming an Eagle Scout to being a forklift driver, to share with anyone who’s interested. It also means he’s picked up a bunch of odd habits. He enjoys a little bit of everything, including: collecting high-end fountain pens, cycling, powerlifting, writing, video gaming, and playing with his two daughters, both of whom have him wrapped securely around their little fingers. Mark loves bringing his unique perspective to bear on the many challenges facing librarians and librarianship. He doesn’t view himself as your average librarian, but that’s ok because we aren’t living in average times.

Restrooms and water fountains can be found near the East stairwell.

Find out what WTAMU students think is the key to college success and what you can do to help your students prepare for the HS to college transition.

Restrooms and water fountains can be found near the East stairwell.

Although it can seem like stating the obvious, it can come as a surprise to realize that students aren’t ready for the type of reading that needs to be done once they arrive on campus. Research has estimated that over 80% of college-level tasks involve reading (https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.876). This includes things like the traditional textbook reading assignment all the way to complex research papers. Many students who were good recreational readers in high school are surprised when they struggle with the type and volume of reading they are expected to complete once in higher education. This session will cover academic reading, disciplinary literacy, and through a guided discussion, the things you are doing to help students improve their reading skills once they get to higher education.

Kelly M. Hoppe

Associate Director/Head of Research, Outreach and Instruction

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Kelly is in her 33rd year in education and her nineth year as an academic librarian. Currently, she is the Associate Director and Head of Research, Outreach and Instruction at Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University (WTAMU). Before becoming an academic librarian, she was a K12 educator and school librarian. She is the Chair of the Texas Library Association College and University Libraries Division and is on the 2026 Conference Planning Committee. Areas of interest include the high school to college transition and K12/Academic library collaborations To that end, she works on collaborative projects with school librarians and WTAMU Education Department faculty such as the fall 2023 program School Librarians: The Missing Piece, a program for preservice teachers at WTAMU to learn about collaborating with their campus librarian and then went on to write about this experience in the article School and Academic Librarians: Cultivating Collaboration which was published in the 2023 Winter edition of Texas Library Journal. This collaborative group went on to create the event, Get LIT(erature)! Speed Dating to Build TExES Confidence, a speed dating event for preservice teachers to help them prepare for the certification test which took take place in the fall of 2024. Additionally, Kelly presents at conferences as a way to grow as a professional and as a way to give back to the profession. She was awarded the West Texas A&M Academic Affairs Staff Excellence Award in 2024. Kelly enjoys walking the fine line between dispelling and embracing the common librarian stereotypes.

Chelsea Kuehler

Student Outreach Librarian

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Chelsea Kuehler is the Student Outreach Librarian for the Cornette Library at West Texas A&M. She is in her second year of academic librarianship and has four years of experience in public and academic libraries. She is active in TLA and currently serves as the Councilor for District 2 (Panhandle) and has presented at TLA 2025 in Dallas. She is the current Library Representative for WT’s Faculty Senate. Her current interests are academic reading, teaching the skill to college students, and how librarians can work together to bridge that gap from school to college. She is also a proud member of the Cartigans, the Book Cart Drill Team for the Cornette Library. Chelsea also enjoys hoarding pretty editions of books.

Join us for a working lunch and guided discussion centered on empowering teachers to confidently teach information literacy beyond the library setting. As information skills become increasingly vital across all subject areas, this session will explore practical strategies, adaptable tools, and collaborative approaches to help integrate these concepts into everyday classroom instruction. We'll discuss how to support students in developing critical thinking, research, and source evaluation skills, regardless of discipline. Whether you're looking for new ideas, ready-to-use resources, or simply a space to connect with colleagues around shared goals, we invite you to bring your appetite, your questions, and your voice to this interactive and solution-focused conversation.

Lunch is provided and will take place on the second floor in the Blackburn Room.

This interactive discussion session will teach Texas Panhandle educators how to utilize the Texas Panhandle Curriculum Initiative resources created by the Center for the Study of the American West (CSAW) and available through the Cornette Library. The subjects covered are English, language arts, reading, fine arts, and social studies. Lesson plans will expose students to local literary culture, poetry, and the fascinating history of the Texas Panhandle. By the end of the session, attending educators should be able to understand the current offerings of the program, and understand how to utilize this framework to create lesson plans focused on teaching our students Where They Are.

Patrick Diepen

Archivist

Cornette Library, West Texas A&M University

Patrick Diepen is an Archivist at the West Texas A&M University Cornette Library and a historian of Progressive Era Public Health and Immigration. He is responsible for the daily operations of the digitization lab and the WTAMU Institutional Repository. Patrick has experience in public history and education programs in both an archives and museum setting. After completing his M.A. in History at WTAMU in May 2022. Patrick has continued his personal research while assisting the students of WT in pursuing their own academic interests. He is an avid reader and finds joy in new historical monographs and emerging research.

Social media has become a primary source of news consumption for students, shaping their perceptions of social issues in ways that often bypass critical analysis. With the erosion of fact-checking tools and the increasing prevalence of misinformation, information literacy (IL) is more essential than ever. However, many students enter college without the skills to evaluate digital content effectively.

This session explores a classroom-tested approach to integrating social media evaluation into IL instruction. Rooted in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, this model aligns with key threshold concepts such as Authority is Constructed and Contextual and Information Creation as a Process. Students begin by independently evaluating a social media video related to their research topic, addressing questions such as:

• Is this video credible? If so, why? If not, why?
• Who created this content, and for what purpose?
• How does audience engagement influence credibility?
• Would this source be appropriate for academic use? Why or why not?

Only after this initial self-assessment are students introduced to formal evaluation frameworks such as CRAAP, SMELL, or ACT UP. This sequence encourages metacognitive reflection, allowing students to compare their instinctive judgments with established academic standards. By adopting this model, educators can equip students with the tools to critically assess digital content beyond traditional academic sources, fostering lifelong critical thinking skills. This session will provide practical strategies for librarians and educators to implement in their own IL instruction, bridging the gap between high school and college research expectations. Attendees will leave with adaptable lesson plans, discussion prompts, and assessment strategies to support student engagement with today’s complex and fast-paced digital information landscape.

Joshua Salmans

Assistant Librarian

Texas Tech University Libraries

Joshua Salmans earned a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 2016. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2012 from North Greenville University. He has been with TTU Libraries since August 2017, where his primary pursuit is finding new intersections with the Texas Tech University and Lubbock communities to cultivate an inviting and welcoming learning environment that promotes the academic library as an inclusive community resource for lifelong learning. His current research interests include library information literacy instruction and design, imposter phenomena in librarianship, and intersectionality within library collections and service.

Jennifer Jacobs

Assistant Librarian

Texas Tech University Libraries

Jennifer Jacobs received her BS and MS in English Literature from Radford University in 2012 and 2015. She then received her MLIS from Valdosta State University in 2018. After graduating Jennifer worked at Kennesaw State University as a Marketing and Outreach Librarian before moving to Texas Tech in 2021 to work as a STEM librarian. Her research interests include memes and marketing, social media outreach and marketing, and gamification in the library.

Tom Rohrig

Associate Librarian

Texas Tech University Libraries

Tom Rohrig received his Master of Arts in librarianship from the University of Denver. He also received his Master of Arts in Mass communications from Texas Tech University. He has worked at Texas Tech since 1977. He is currently the Personal librarian for Political Science. He is also the Patents and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) representative and 1 of 2 Texas federal Regional depository librarians. He is also the Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL) representative. He is active in TRAIL, Texas Library Association, GPO federal depository community, and the patents and trademark community.

His research interests include government and patent information. He is active and on the board of the League of Women Voters of Lubbock County and is a Mentor and Mentor Cluster Leader for Texas Tech’s Mentor Tech.

Innocent Awasom

Associate Librarian

Texas Tech University Libraries

Innocent Awasom is Associate Librarian at Texas Tech University Libraries in Lubbock, with Liaison responsibilities to the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry and the International Center for Arid and Semi-Arid land Studies (ICASALS). He holds graduate degrees in Information Sciences (M.Inf.Sc.) from the African Regional Center for Information Science (ARCIS) and in Zoology (M.Sc.) - Hydrobiology & Fisheries, from the University of Ibadan. He worked previously at the Magath Library, University of Minnesota and was the University Librarian and lecturer of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Ngaoundere, Cameroon. His over 2 decades of professional librarianship experience has taken him to Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya , USA , Europe and most recently to the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), Bindura – Zimbabwe, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in residence. His research interests are in the areas of International Librarianship, Information/Media/Digital literacy, scholarly communications, Altmetrics, and Knowledge Management.

Before you head out, we’d love for you to stick around a little longer and join us for a guided tour of the library. It’s a great chance to explore our spaces, learn about the resources and services we offer, and discover a few hidden gems along the way. Whether you’re new to the library or just curious to see more, we’d be glad to have you!